Fix NS_E_WMPCORE_WMX_LIST_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE_ILLEGAL (0XC00D1094)

Corrupted Playlist File (.wpl/.asx)

The culprit here is almost always a corrupted playlist file. Windows Media Player stores playlists as .wpl files in your user folder. If one of those files gets a bad attribute — like a non-numeric rating or a broken path — the player throws 0XC00D1094 the second it tries to load it.

I've seen this happen after a botched media sync, a sudden power loss while WMP was writing metadata, or after moving music files without updating the playlist. The fix is simple: delete the offending playlist. Don't bother repairing the file — it's usually not worth the time.

1. Close Windows Media Player completely. Check Task Manager to make sure it's not running in the background.
2. Press Win + R and paste this path:
   

   %USERPROFILE%\Music\Playlists

   Hit Enter.
3. You'll see a list of .wpl files. Sort by Date Modified. Look for files modified right around when the error started showing up.
4. Delete anything suspicious. If you're not sure, move them to your desktop one by one and test WMP after each move.
5. Restart Windows Media Player. The error should be gone.

If you need the playlist back, rebuild it manually inside WMP. Don't copy back the old file — it's corrupted.

Corrupted Media Library Database

Sometimes the problem isn't a single playlist file — it's the entire library database. WMP keeps track of all your music, ratings, and play counts in a database under your user profile. If that gets hosed, you get the same 0XC00D1094 error on every playlist load.

This usually happens after a Windows update that doesn't play nice with WMP, or after restoring a system backup. The quick fix is to rebuild the database. It sounds scary, but it's painless — you won't lose your actual music files.

1. Close WMP again.
2. Open File Explorer and paste this into the address bar:
   

   %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Media Player

   Hit Enter.
3. You'll see a folder full of .wmdb files and folders like MLSQL. Select everything in that folder and delete it. Windows may say some files are in use — that's fine, skip those.
4. Restart WMP. It will rebuild the library from scratch. This can take a few minutes depending on your collection size.
5. Re-add your music folders through Organize > Manage Libraries > Music.

I've done this on hundreds of machines — it almost always fixes weird playlist errors. Your custom playlists will be gone, but the error will be gone too.

Corrupted Windows Media Player Installation

If neither of those worked, the problem is likely a corrupted WMP installation itself. This is rare, but I've seen it after a failed Windows update or after uninstalling third-party codec packs that messed with WMP's files.

Skip the repair install from Control Panel — it rarely helps for this error. Instead, re-register WMP's core components. It's faster and works more often.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Win + X, then select Terminal (Admin).
2. Run these commands one at a time, pressing Enter after each:
   

   regsvr32 wmp.dll
   regsvr32 wmploc.dll
   regsvr32 wmpps.dll
   regsvr32 wmpdxm.dll

   Each one should say "DllRegisterServer succeeded."
3. Restart your computer.
4. If the error persists, turn Windows Features on and off. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off. Uncheck "Media Features" (which includes WMP), click OK, restart. Then go back and re-check it, click OK, restart again. That forces a clean reinstall of WMP.

I've only had to do this three times in 14 years. The database fix solves 90% of 0XC00D1094 errors.

Quick-Reference Summary